


birthday wishes

by themebattle



Category: End Roll (Video Game)
Genre: Birthday, Flowers, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Post-Canon, Regret, but can also be totally platonic it's up to you, chris/russell if you squint really hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26251597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themebattle/pseuds/themebattle
Summary: Chris celebrates Russell's birthday.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 27





	birthday wishes

"Alright mom, I'm headed out," Chris called as he pulled his shoes on. "I'll be back in a bit!"

Not waiting to hear back from his mother, he headed out the door and quickly made his way to the flower shop down the street.

He had never stopped there before, never having any real need to buy flowers--especially with how little money he had. But he was 16 now, and he had been fortunate enough to grab a part-time job at a grocery market, so he had some money to spare. He didn't know a thing about flowers, but he needed them for something important.

"Hey, uh," Chris walked up to the owner of the store and tried to get their attention. "Do you have any flowers that are good for birthdays?"

"Depends on what the receiver is to you. A lover, a friend, a family member…?"

"A...friend." 

The florist hummed for a bit, mulling over their choices. "...Well, there's a lot of flowers that would fit, but...for a special occasion like a birthday, how about yellow roses? Roses are a popular flower, and yellow ones specifically symbolize friendship and caring."

"Huh…" Chris touched his chin in thought. "How much are they?"

"A bouquet of fifteen is ten dollars."

Yeesh. Ten dollars wasn't much for most people, but spending that much on _flowers_ felt irresponsible. But Chris didn't care--the person these flowers were for was worth way more than ten measly dollars. 

"I'll take them, then." 

After carrying out the transaction, Chris hurried off with the flowers in his arms, holding them gently so as not to ruin them.

It didn't take him long to reach his destination: the cemetery. He unlatched the gate and quickly made his way to the very back, where yet another gate--this time locked--stood in his way. Having no real regard for the rules, he set his flowers on the stone fence and jumped over the gate.

Cradling the flowers in his arms again, he headed even further into the cemetery. He knew exactly where he was going--he had been there several times before. Towards the middle, to the right, near the end of the row, by the dead tree. That was his destination.

Chris stopped in front of the grave, hands trembling. After a few moments, he gently set the bouquet down by the grave, and sat cross-legged in front of it.

"Happy birthday, Russell." He said, forcing a smile. "I promised I wouldn't forget, didn't I?"

Silence. Not even the breeze made a sound, but it had a bite that sent a chill down his spine.

"Sooo...I got a job at the grocery store." Chris broke the silence. "I know, right? Took me long enough to get a proper one. But I'm earning honest money now. If you were here, I bet I could put in a good word with the boss and get you a job, too..."

He looked up at the sky. This was no good, he was getting all misty-eyed now. 

"Hey, Russ?" He choked out. "I keep thinking...if I had been able to get you away from your parents, if I had been a better friend...Maybe things wouldn't have ended up like this."

Tears spilled down Chris' cheeks. He wiped them away with his sleeve, but more kept coming. He sniffled a bit, and continued.

"S-So...if you could find in your heart a way to forgive me…I promise...I'll do better. I'm so, so sorry…"

Chris couldn't continue. He put his face in his hands, his sleeves muffling his sobs. 

It was a sad birthday.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed and i made you sufficiently sad >:3 because man i got real sad writing this


End file.
